Texas Gov. Rick Perry first announced that his campaign would continue forward to South Carolina on Twitter. (Twitter.com/GovernorPerry)

Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced Wednesday morning that his campaign for president will continue onward to South Carolina, home of the primary season’s third contest, criticizing the Iowa caucuses in which he placed fifth as “a quirky process” in “a quirky place.”

After a 10 percent showing in Tuesday night’s caucuses, Perry told supporters he planned cancel South Carolina appearances scheduled for Wednesday so he could return to Texas and assess whether his campaign had “a path forward.”

But at 10:14 a.m. on Wednesday, Perry announced a change of plans via Twitter:

“And the next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State…Here we come South Carolina!!!”

Attached to the message was a photo of Perry in Texas A&M jogging shorts, his thumb up toward the morning sky. Perry told reporters outside the Sheraton West Moines that the photo, and perhaps a bit of inspiration, came to him during a morning run near the Raccoon River.

“I was out on the trail when it kind of came to me,” said Perry on his decision that there is indeed a path forward for him in the race.

“You all just have to wait and see,” he said. “It’s there, it’s clearly there.”

Hours before Iowans deemed him fifth in the GOP field, Politico reported that Perry’s campaign had begun buying airtime for television ads in South Carolina. After Tuesday night’s showing, spokesman Ray Sullivan said that Perry still had enough resources and funds to run a vigorous race in the state, if he chose to continue.

Perry now plans to head to South Carolina after participating in two in New Hampshire debates this weekend.

Perry declined to say whether his top staff – already in its second iteration after he slumped in the polls last fall – would see another shake up on its way to the Palmetto State.

“That’s not my area of expertise. I leave that to Joe Allbaugh,” he said, referring to his top consultant.

After speaking with senior staff in the light of day, Perry said continuing, “wasn’t a hard decision.”

“(T)his is a quirky place, a quirky process to say the least,” said Perry of Iowa and its caucuses, “and we’re going to go into places where they have actual primaries and there are going to be real Republicans voting …”

The candidate said that self-proclaimed Democrats voted in Tuesday night’s contest, skewing the results.

“And not that there aren’t real republicans here in Iowa but the fact it is was a pretty loosey-goosey process,” Perry said.

His wife, Texas First Lady Anita Perry, said she looks forward to flying south for winter, too.